Tennis net



Sept. 30, 1941 R. S. BUNKER TENNIS NET Filed June 14, 1940 INVENTOR,Wdgflt 8. BMW,

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 30, 1941 -UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TENNIS NETRoyce S. Bunker, Baltimore, Md., assignor to The Linen Thread 00., Inc.,New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application June 14, 1940,Serial No. 340,482

Claims. 01. 273-29) In my application Serial No. 338,711 a net of theclass of tennis netsis set forth which is so constructed that, as oneadvantage, stitching of the top-band to the net proper is avoided. Ac-

cording to the example therein set forth a flexible element is threadedthrough a horizontal row of openings of and adjacent to the upper marginof the net proper and substantiallyfrom end toend of such row and existsin interwoven relation to the upright strands between such openings; itthus supports thenet proper and affords a medium to which the top-bandmay be Connected by resort-to a suitable intermediary which in theexample setforth takes the form 'of a strand having coupling loopspenetrating said element and the top-band.

According to this present invention the same advantage is attainedwithout such coupling intermediary. Given the net proper and a strip offlexible material to form the top-band, an elongated coupling elementtraverses the net in an at least generally horizontal direction andexists threaded through said strip and the upper mar ginal portion ofthe net proper (as the mesh openings in the latter) in alternatelyopposite directions, or first from one face and then from the other faceof the net, and so on. In the example herein set forth said element is aflat, rather sturdy band and, said strip and the upper marginal portionof the net proper being in lapped relation to each other-the stripactually having the two-ply form and receiving between its plies suchmarginal portion-said element stands in threaded relation to themwithout substantial up or down deviation from true horizontal. But, aswill appear in the appended claims, I do not wish necessarily to .belimited to any of these details.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a face view of an upper corner portion of the improved net;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan of the blank for the top-band.

The net proper is here shown of usual form or including upright strandsl and horizontal strands 2 arranged to form mesh openings 3 and knottedtogether at their crossings, 4 being one of the two side bands to whichthe ends of the horizontal strands are connected, as by stitching. Thenet proper will, as usual, be tarred.

5 designates a strip of flexible sheet material forming the top-band. Itis here shown as twoply, as usual, being formed by folding on its medianlongitudinal line the elongated blank shown in Fig. 3 whereby in thefinished net the top-band will be tubular and so adapted to reproper.These apertures are here transverse slits and may be reinforced, asshown, by buttonhole stitching 8. Since the top-band is in the exampletwo-ply the blankis formed with two longitudinal rows of theseapertures, those of one row being arranged to register respectively withthose in the other when the blank is folded.

9 is the mentioned elongated coupling element, here a suitably thick andhence sturdy fiat band of white duck. Having, according to the exampleshown, placed the two-ply strip forming the topband in straddlingrelation to the upper margin of the net proper with the apertures Itherein in registry with the mesh openings in the top row thereof,element 9 is passed back and forth through the succeeding pairs ofapertures I (each pair comprising the registering apertures of the twoplies), of course in each such pass extending through the correspondingopening 3 in the net proper. intercouple the net proper and top-band(supporting the former and being itself supported by the latter) bybeing laced through both of them at substantially correspondingintervals, they being in this example in lapping relation to each other.

The element 9 should be secured in some way so as not to sag under theweight of the net proper. Following the customary procedure the sidebands 4 will be stitched to the top-band and if they are extended asshown in Fig. 1 so as to intersect element 9 such stitching, indicatedat l0, may be made to secure said element. Or the latter may be securedat its ends as shown best in Fig. 2 where apertures H are formed in theplies of the top-band lateral of the side band, the end of said elementbeing laced through these apertures and then formed in a coil l2 arounda portion of the top-band which flanks said apertures, as between themand the terminus of the top-band; the extreme end 5a, of said element1runayd'be tucked in between the plies of the top- In other words, saidelement serves to Having thus fully described my invention, what I claimis:

1. A net of the class specified including a net proper composed ofcrossing strands connected together at their points of crossing, anelongated horizontal flexible supporting element for the net proper, andan elongated horizontal flexible supporting strip of sheet material forsaid element, said element being threaded at intervals through saidstrip and also a horizontal row of openings adjacent the upper margin ofthe not proper and existing in interwoven relation to the strandsbetween such openings.

2. A net of the class specified including a net proper composed ofcrossing strands connected together at their points of crossing, anelongated horizontal flexible supporting element for the net proper, anda pluri-ply elongated horizontal flexible supporting strip of sheetmaterial for said element having the upper marginal portion of the netproper between plies thereof, said element being threaded at intervalsthrough said plies and also a horizontal row of openings of said portionand existing in interwoven relation to the strands between suchopenings.

3. A net of the class specified including a not proper composed ofcrossing strands connected together at their points of crossing, anelongated horizontal flexible flat supporting band for the net proper,and an elongated horizontal flexible supporting strip of sheet materialfor said element, said element being threaded through said strip andalso'a horizontal row of openings adjacent the upper margin of the netproper and existing in interwoven relation to the strands,

proper, and an elongated flat horizontal flexible supporting strip ofsheet material for said element having the end portions of said elementheld thereby against displacement toward each other relatively to thestrip when the latter is fully extended/and also having its widththroughout its entire length extending vertically, said element beingthreaded at intervals through said strip and also a horizontal row ofopenings ad- J'acent the upper margin of the net proper and existing ininterwoven relation to the strands between such openings.

5. A net of the class specified including a net proper, a horizontalstrip of flexible sheet materialadjacent to the upper margin of the netproper and forming the top-band of the net, and means connecting theupper margin of the net proper to said strip at intervals including anelongated flat flexible element threaded through the upper margin of thenet proper and having its width throughout its entire length extendingvertically, said strip having an aperture and said element beingextended through, and coiled around a portion of the strip flanked by;said aperture.

ROYCE s. BUNKER.

